Are Supplements Worth It?

Are supplements worth it? There is no question that supplements add to the family budget. As families juggle their budgets it is natural to wonder whether the supplements they are buying are worth the cost.

It is only natural to ask questions like: “What is the cost, benefit ratio of supplementation?” “Is there any evidence that supplementation today will save us money in health care costs down the road?”

If a recent study is accurate, the answer to that last question may be a resounding yes!

How the Study Was Designed

A number of studies in the past have suggested that supplementation reduces health care costs, but they have suffered from a variety of methodological pitfalls so their conclusions could not be considered definitive.

In a time of skyrocketing health care costs coupled with governments tightening their budgets worldwide, it has become increasingly important for those governments to determine what the most cost effective public health interventions are. Thus, the question of whether supplementation can decrease health care costs has become paramount.

Therefore, an international group of scientists decided to do a systematic review and meta-analysis of the cost effectiveness of supplementation (Elia et al, Clinical Nutrition, doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2015.07.012). They included only the highest quality previous studies in their analysis. After screening 16,598 published studies they excluded all but 19 in their final evaluation. The studies that they included had the following characteristics.

The subjects were supplementing with a commercially available multi-nutrient supplement that also contained protein and calories (i.e. a meal replacement supplement). Subjects consuming disease-specific supplements or immune-enhancing supplements were excluded from the study.

Subjects were studied in a wide variety of settings, including both free living individuals in the community and those in care homes

In some cases the supplementation was begun while they were in the hospital and continued when they went home. In other cases supplementation was begun while they were at home and continued after admission to the hospital.

Subjects were of all ages.

Are Supplements Worth It — The Money?

From a public health perspective the conclusion from this study was clear. Supplementation with a basic meal replacement supplement saves money. It is an effective public health intervention.

Overall, supplementation decreased health care costs by 8.1%.

For studies lasting less than 3 months, supplementation reduced health care costs by 9.2%. These were most often short-term pre- and/or post-operative supplementation studies. The cost savings ranged from $300-$530 per patient.

For studies lasting more than 3 months, supplementation reduced health care costs by 5%. These were mostly long-term community studies.

Overall, the costs savings attributable to supplementation were most apparent in short term studies involving a hospital component and in those studies involving younger patients.

The first observation was expected, but the second was a bit of a surprise. The general assumption is that elderly patients are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and benefit from supplementation. These data suggest that suboptimal nutrition may be more prevalent in younger adults than generally anticipated.

The reduction in health care costs was primarily due to:

Significant (16.5%) reduction in hospital admissions.

Decreased length of stay in the hospital.

Decreased infections.

Reduced post-operative complications.

Reduced falls and functional limitations in the elderly.

Although, it did not factor into the cost analysis, those subjects using the meal replacement supplement reported greater quality of life as well. Are supplements worth it? For some, a greater quality of life would help answer that question.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Study

This was an excellent study, but it does have some important limitations.

While the systematic review and meta-analysis was very well done, it is limited by the quality of the studies that were included in the analysis, and most of those studies had one or more limitations. The authors acknowledged the need for future large scale, prospective studies, that are designed specifically to measure the cost effectiveness of supplementation.

The authors focused almost entirely on the cost benefit analysis. No information was provided on:

The health of these subjects

Why they were using a meal replacement supplement

Whether they decided to use the meal replacement supplement on their own or whether it was recommended by their doctor.

Thus, it is a bit difficult to extrapolate these data from a public health perspective to an individual perspective – the question of whether supplementation reduces health care costs sufficiently to be cost effective for you and me.

This study showed that even a basic meal replacement supplement has a significant effect on reducing health care costs in a variety of settings. However, it provides no information on whether individuals would obtain even greater benefit if they included other supplements in their program.

The Bottom Line

A recent study has shown that even a simple meal replacement supplement can be an effective public health intervention because it significantly reduces health care costs and improves quality of life.

The most significant reductions in health care costs came from:

A significant (16.5%) reduction in hospital admissions.

Decreased length of stay in the hospital.

Decreased infections.

Reduced post-operative complications.

Reduced falls and functional limitations in the elderly.

The cost savings were most significant when the meal replacement supplement was used just prior to or following hospital admission for a surgical procedure. This argues strongly for a basic program of nutrition supplementation whenever you are preparing for surgery.However, as the saying goes “Stuff happens”. We don’t always know the precise date and time of our next hospital admission. This may be one case where an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure.

The study did include some long term studies of free living individuals in the community, but it is difficult to directly extrapolate from this study to the question of how much a basic meal replacement supplement might reduce health care costs for healthy individuals like you and me.However, many of the things we do to improve our health – buy organic, go on a diet program, purchase a gym membership, or go on a supplement program, for example – cost us money. It is studies like this that suggest at least a portion of those costs may be offset by reduced health care costs down the road.

Finally, this study only looked at the cost effectiveness of a basic meal replacement supplement. It does not provide any information on whether addition of other supplements might provide even greater health care savings.There are studies suggesting that a holistic approach to supplementation may reduce disease burden long term (for example; Nutr J. 2007 Oct 24; 6:30). A detailed cost effectiveness analysis has not been performed on those studies, so we cannot say how much money they might save in reduced health care costs over the long term. However, if a holistic program of diet, exercise and supplementation keeps me out of the doctor’s office and out of the hospital, I’m happy.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

A Sleeping position that has your head tilted puts pressure on your spinal cord and will cause headaches. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times, and the reasoning is so logical it’s easy to understand.

Your spinal cord runs from your brain, through each of your vertebrae, down your arms and legs. Nerves pass out of the vertebrae and go to every cell in your body, including each of your organs. When you are sleeping it is important to keep your head, neck, and spine in a horizontal plane so you aren’t straining the muscles that insert into your vertebrae.

The graphic above is a close-up of your skull and the cervical (neck) vertebrae. Your nerves are shown in yellow, and your artery is shown in red. Consider what happens if you hold your head to one side for hours. You can notice that the nerves and artery will likely be press upon. Also, since your spinal cord comes down the inside of the vertebrae, it will also be impinged.

In 2004 the Archives of Internal Medicine published an article stating that 1 out of 13 people have morning headaches. It’s interesting to note that the article never mentions the spinal cord being impinged by the vertebrae. That’s a major oversight!

Muscles merge into tendons, and the tendons insert into the bone. As you stayed in the tilted position for hours, the muscles actually shortened to the new length. Then you try to turn over, but the short muscles are holding your cervical vertebrae tightly, and they can’t lengthen.

The weight of your head pulls on the vertebrae, putting even more pressure on your spinal cord and nerves. Plus, the tight muscles are pulling on the bones, causing pain on the bone.

Your Pillow is Involved in Your Sleeping Position and the Causes of Headaches

The analogy I always use is; just as pulling your hair hurts your scalp, the muscle pulling on the tendons hurts the bone where it inserts. In this case it is your neck muscles putting a strain on your cervical bones. For example, if you sleep on your left side and your pillow is too thick, your head will be tilted up toward the ceiling. This position tightens the muscles on the right side of your neck.

Dozing off while sitting in a car waiting for someone to arrive, or while working for hours at your desk can also cause headaches. The pictures above show a strain on the neck when you fall asleep without any support on your neck. Both of these people will wake up with a headache, and with stiffness in their neck.

The best sleeping position to prevent headaches is to have your pillow adjusted so your head, neck, and spine are in a horizontal line. Play with your pillows, putting two thin pillows into one case if necessary. If your pillow is too thick try to open up a corner and pull out some of the stuffing.

Sleeping on Your Back & Stomach

If you sleep on your back and have your head on the mattress, your spine is straight. All you need is a little neck pillow for support, and a pillow under your knees.

Stomach sleeping is the worst sleeping position for not only headaches, but so many other aches and pains. It’s a tough habit to break, but it can be done. This sleeping position deserves its own blog, which I will do in the future.

Treating the Muscles That Cause Headaches

All of the muscles that originate or insert into your cervical vertebrae, and many that insert into your shoulder and upper back, need to be treated. The treatments are all taught in Treat Yourself to Pain Free Living, in the neck and shoulder chapters. Here is one treatment that will help you get relief.

Take either a tennis ball or the Perfect Ball (which really is Perfect because it has a solid center and soft outside) and press into your shoulder as shown. You are treating a muscle called Levator Scapulae which pulls your cervical vertebrae out of alignment when it is tight.

Hold the press for about 30 seconds, release, and then press again.

Your pillow is a key to neck pain and headaches caused by your sleeping position. It’s worth the time and energy to investigate how you sleep and correct your pillow. I believe this blog will help you find the solution and will insure you have restful sleep each night.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Meet The Experts

The statements in these articles have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any Health Care changes should be made only after consulting with your Doctor and licensed Health Care Advisor.

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